Asgardians of the Galaxy
by VonGikkingen
Summary: Pretty self-explanatory. Picks up where Endgame left off...
1. Chapter 1

"Remember how quiet this ship used to be...?" says Rocket as Mantis skips by singing to herself.

"Barely" replies Nebula, never looking up from the machinery normally safely hidden underneath the metal plates of her left arm.

"Speaking of," he says, innocently enough. But something in his tone must give him away because she immediately looks up.

"Yes?"

"So I had this idea. Potentially a really bad idea," he admits. "_What if..._"

Nebula's expression settles on a just-spit-it-out kind of annoyance as she watches him. He sighs and tries again.

"So Thor was talking about maybe leaving Earth for a while..."

"And?" she frowns, clearly not seeing why did she need to know that.

"We have a spaceship," reminds Rocket. Spaceship that was feeling more than a little crowded with its current number of occupants - at least after the kind of peace and quiet they were used to after the years of there being just the two of them. Which is _not_ the reason he thought he better checks with her before mentioning it to anyone else...

"Have you asked Quill?" she asks after considering the idea for a second.

"Why would I ask...? Oh, right. I keep forgetting we're letting him think he's the captain because he kinda needs that right now," grins Rocket. He turns serious again almost immediately, though, "No, I didn't ask Quill. I'm asking _you_."

She sighs, shaking her head as she gets the punchline.

"I'm asking you if it's okay to bring the guy who decapitated your abusive father in front of you along for the ride. And don't give me that," he says, gesturing at her neutral expression. "You should be angry about that. Don't take this the wrong way but that _is_ your thing. You get angry."

"Not about this," she says simply.

Rocket makes a frustrated noise. "_Why_ _not? _I know were too shaken at first but I was so sure you'll get angry later..."

"I remember," she says. And he can tell she does, what with her expression bordering on a amused.

Which is fair. He _did _offer to tie up the Asgardian and then keep a lookout to make sure no one interrupts her as she punches him until she feels better. She assured him that won't be necessary. Assured him she _wasn't_ angry. Not for having the chance to kill Thanos taken away from her, not for not being allowed to hear the only apology she might have ever gotten... Even _he _was a little angry about that. But Nebula insisted she wasn't. And the fact she kept telling him so for years now meant it probably was true.

"He was apologizing," he finds himself saying, not for the first time. "You deserved..."

"_Perhaps I was too harsh_ is not an apology, Rocket," she says. Calmly.

It was always a surprise - how calm she can be when talking about that day. They had many variations on this conversation and he never once managed to get a raise out of her. It was always him who ended up getting angry. And she would just look at him, like she knew something she didn't.

It doesn't take long for that expression to settle on her face now. But this time it's not where it ends. Instead of deciding the conversation is over and going back to whatever it was she was doing before it started she just holds his eyes for a moment longer, then takes a breath and says, "Do you really want to know? Why I'm not angry."

"Yes," he nods.

"If Gamora was there that day she would have had his head sooner. Just as soon as he dared to call me _daughter_. As soon as he dared to even look at me. She wouldn't have stood for that. And if he did actually apologize for what he did to me - if he was capable of meaning it," says Nebula, her voice trailing off, her expression growing distantly sad for just a moment. "She wouldn't have killed him anywhere near as painlessly."

Her words leave him speechless.

Because she's right. That's exactly what would have happened. Gamora would have known her sister was better off for not having to listen to that monster a moment longer...

"That's why I'm not angry," says Nebula. Looking down into the mechanisms hidden in her forearm before adding, almost as an afterthought, "Thor did me a favor."

He nods, letting her know he understands. Though it takes him a while to find his voice again.

"Okay," he says, nodding to himself. "I guess I'll call him then. Let him know we have space enough for one more."

"It can't make things that much worse," she comments, moving her legs out of the way so Groot, walking by with his face buried in a screen, doesn't stumble over them.

He gets up and starts for the adjoining room when Nebula stops him. "You should ask Quill first," she reminds. "He _is _the captain."

"I didn't forget," he replies. A little too quickly, making it painfully obvious that yes, yes he did.

Just one of the many things that will get some getting used to...

"On second thought," says Nebula, closing up the panel in her forearm. "I _do_ want to see his face when you tell him."

"Of course you do," he grins. "Come along then..."

...

"Just pick a planet, Quill," says Nebula, making the terran actually jump. Not because he didn't expect to hear her voice, but because he wasn't used to it coming from this closeby. She never was the type to get anywhere near other people's personal space if it could be helped. Yet another thing she has presumably gotten over during the last five years.

"I'm trying," he says, looking back at the map to hide his unease.

"What's wrong with this one...?"

He frowns, never having considered the place she just pointed out. _Five years_, he reminds himself. "What am I missing now? Did you two made friends there while we were gone...?"

"No," she says simply. Taking a moment to pick up on the fact he would like to hear what her reasoning for choosing that particular world was then. "I just picked one at random," she explains. "Because we don't actually have anything on the agenda, do we? So any world will do."

"I... can't really argue with that," he admits.

"Good. I'll set the course."

"That's not what I... meant..." he finishes weakly, because she already left. He groans, then looks around, finding he's not surprised he's not the only person present. "Hey, Mantis? Can you go over there and explain to her who the captain is?"

"Of course," nods the girl. Going right back to humming to herself as she stays put, completely ignoring the order he just gave her. Which, in fairness, he should have expected...

Heading out to do something about the situation himself he almost collides with Rocket.

"Did you tell Nebula she can pick the destination?"

"I didn't tell her she couldn't fast enough," replies Quill.

"Rookie mistake," says Rocket, shaking his head as he heads for the front of the ship to remind Nebula that they talked about this...

Which is as much of their conversation as he gets to hear, what with the rest being spoken in low, almost conspiratorial voices. A few seconds later Nebula laughs - actually _laughs_ \- and gets out of the seat.

"Do you think you can settle on one before we reach Norway?" she asks as she walks by, her expression still vaguely amused. And all he can do is stare after her. Because it's one thing to know it's been five years - a very different thing seeing evidence of it in things like _that_. The seemingly endless list of things Gamora's perpetually angry sister can do now.

He does try to settle on a planet, just to spite her. He only fails because as it turns out Norway is a lot closer than he expected it to be. Which is not on him – his knowledge of terran geography being tenuous at best, what with how young he was when he was taken from this world.

"Sure Quill," grins Rocket on hearing _that_ justification. "At least try to narrow it down a little while I go get him."

Which, again, he does. He tries. And fails. And before he knows it he has another thing to deal with...

"_Asgardians of the Galaxy back together again..._"


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, this is a lot less fun," comments Nebula on overhearing the laughter from the adjoining room.

Rocket just nods. Who would have guessed that the friction will last for all of few days and after that things will settle into... He had a vague idea terrans called this kind of thing _a bromance_.

"You don't think..."

When he looks up at her she's frowning slightly, clearly wondering. "That they're just pretending to get along to mess with us?" he finishes for her. "You know, it did occur to me. But that might be giving them too much credit."

Nebula just nods her agreement before giving her full attention to cleaning one her weapons.

"I mean... I still say it was a good idea. We're better off for having the extra muscle."

"Muscle?" repeats Nebula, giving him a look. One that tells him she sees what he did there... "Is he really that helpful when you guys are out on the job...?" she wonders.

"You need to tag along if you want to know. Seriously, I know you need your alone time, but..."

"I'll come with you on the next one," she promises. "I think I can do that now. Remember that I'm supposed to only shoot at the hostiles even though shooting Drax would be a far more pleasant use of ammo."

Rocket just chuckles, even though he _knows _she's not really joking.

They lapse into silence then. He doesn't mind. It's a pleasant reminder of how things used to be back when they were all that was left of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Back when he wasn't sure how they'll manage and he _definitely _wasn't sure what he could and couldn't say to her. And so there was _a lot _of silence in those days. He never minded. And it's _such_ a precious commodity now, considering how much noise the full crew is capable of making...

Right on cue, there's even more laughter. Followed by the sound of footsteps. And before they know it they're joined by the God of Thunder himself. "Rabbit, do we have any more beer?"

"He's not a rabbit," says Nebula automatically. Making Rocket smile fondly as he just about stops short of pointing out that she used to just as casually call him a fox. And now she was the first to take offense on his behalf...

"I do apologize," says Thor immediately.

"She's not angry, just disappointed," grins Rocket before pointing to one of the storage boxes to let him know where the beers are. "Or is it bored?"

"_Very _bored," corrects Nebula.

"Would having something to shoot at help?" wonders Rocket, picking up on what she's saying.

"Why? Are you volunteering?"

Thor looks like he's about to make some comment about their banter. Then, thinking better or it, just shakes his head, grabs a couple more beers and walks away to rejoin Quill. His exit followed shortly by an "I know, _right_?" coming from the next room.

Nebula just rolls her eyes at the sound of that.

"I think they might be talking about us behind our backs," says Rocket, just about managing to keep his face straight.

"Someone should talk to them about the volume they do it at," she replies.

Then picks up the weapon she just finished reassembling and gets up. Rocket follows. Because he might know she's no longer the kind of person who would shoot someone simply for annoying her - but Quill definitely did _not_ pick up on that yet. Which is going to make whatever is about to happen really funny...

...

The third time it happens he finds he really needs to say something. "Accident," replies Nebula before he gets a single word out. And her expression is the picture of innocence.

"I see."

"I am _not_ aiming for your eye," she adds, sounding ready to take offense that he'd dare suggest that. Then she picks another triangular piece of metal from the table as though that was the subject closed.

He lets her get away with it for several rounds.

"So if Mantis touched you right now she would _not_ be feeling amused," he says casually. But of course Mantis, who has been watching them play for the last fifteen minutes, completely fails to take the hint.

Nebula gives the girl a sideways look, shakes her head at her happy, if mostly spaced out smmile, then picks up another small, metal projectile. That seconds later strikes Thor in his artificial eye.

"Do you think it wise to anger the God of Thunder...?"

"No," she says, getting up from the table. "But it _is _fun..."

She puts a hand on Mantis's shoulder before leaving the room. Her antennae start to glow immediately - and the laughter that follows can only be described as mischievous...

"I liked that," comments Mantis after the effect of Nebula's feelings fades. Her expression growing more serious for a moment, as she adds, almost in a whisper, "She used to only feel scared."

...

"What's _this_...?" says Quill, picking up the unfamiliar looking weapon he discovered in one of the crates.

"Oh, I wondered where I put that," says Rocket, turning to him. Clearly intending to walk over there and take it. A plan that changes the second he catches the look on Nebula's face.

"Rocket, tell me that's not what I think it is."

"What? Okoye said I can have it," he says with an innocent smile no one in the room is buying.

"_No_," says Nebula, closing her eyes. Which is the only way she can keep herself from giving him one of her usual death glares. "What Okoye said was _no, please, take whatever you like the look of_. She couldn't have been more clearly sarcastic."

"That was _sarcasm_?" says Rocket, still trying to pretend innocence. For about half a second, before the expression on Nebula's face makes him drop the act. "Oh, _fine_. I'll give it back next time we're on Terra. Happy?"

"I'll be happy when you locate the rest of the stuff you stole in Wakanda," she replies.

"Hey. _Borrowed_."

"That implies you were planning to return it," joins in Quill. "Were you?"

"You just want to suck the joy out of everything," says Rocket stomping off. Returning several minutes later, weighed down with quite a number of Wakandan weapons.

"You'd have stolen a Black Panther suit if it fit you..." says Nebula, just stopping short of facepalming at the sight.

"Who says I didn't...?" he winks.


	3. Chapter 3

"How's space?"

"Full of idiots," says Nebula under her breath.

Thor turns around shooting her a look. That she meets with a completely unapologetic expression. "Space is fine," he says, turning back to the green giant on the screen.

Claim that is immediately challenged by Mantis who runs by holding both of Drax's knives and looking delighted about the fact. "_Mantis_," says Nebula, putting on her usual why-are-you-like-this expression reserved for dealing with situations like this one as she starts pursuit.

"Space is _great_," corrects Thor as though what just happened proved his point somehow.

"I can see that," replies Banner, his expression very much in on the joke.

"_Bunch of children_," interrupts Nebula again as she stomps across the room, knives in hands and her expression making no secret of the fact she might be returning them to Drax by lodging them in his chest.

The two Avengers try their best but they can't quite keep from laughing.

"I should probably..." says Thor, already getting up.

"Yeah, you better do that," grins Banner before terminating the call. Allowing Thor to get up and reach Nebula just in time to keep her from doing something dramatic and no doubt painful to Drax. Who's sleeping peacefully and has no idea just how much trouble he's in.

But by the time he has the chance to do anything more than catch her by the wrist - and get a murderous glare that makes him let go within nanoseconds - Quill of all people comes to the rescue. "Got you another job," he calls, his voice echoing throughout the whole ship.

And there is no question who is the statement meant for. Because even with the overwhelming amount of bountyhunting work that has been available since a sizeable number of people who rematerialized were criminals the Guardians didn't try to make the most of the situation by splitting up and going after several of them at once. They always worked as a team. Except for Nebula, that was. Who was not as much trusted to get the job done with no need for backup - which she most certainly _was_ capable of, as she proved many times in the recent weeks - she was simply getting her way because Quill still didn't realize he _can _say no to her and keep his vital organs.

And so she was the only one going off on her own. And managing to bring in rewards that pretty much equaled what the rest of them were earning.

"It will be dangerous," continues Quill, appearing in the doorway. Taking in the scene before him and shaking his head before adding. "But not as dangerous as letting you stay and risk you'll kill us all in a cabin fever inspired killing spree."

"Don't underestimate my ability to find the time to do both," she replies. Dropping the knives and walking off, having lost all interest in yelling at Drax about not leaving his weapons where anyone who doesn't understand that running with knives is just as dangerous as running with scissors can find them.

"She wouldn't..." starts Thor. Only once she's out of hearing, though. And when Quill gives him a shrug that is not exactly reassuring he finds himself amending it to, "She wouldn't... would she?"

The terran doesn't look like he has a good answer for him...

...

"Did you call me...?" says Quill, trying his best not to smile and failing miserably as he reaches the part of the ship where Rocket is running diagnostics for Nebula as he insists on doing after each of her solo jobs. Something no amount of threats managed to discourage him from doing. "Did you just actually bothered to use my name instead of throwing something at me to get my attention...?" adds Quill, doing nothing to hide what a pleasant plot twist this is. "Next you'll be..."

"I am _never _calling you Starlord," she interjects before he gets any further.

"You kinda just did," he points out.

"Quill," says Rocket, not looking up from the screen showing him the state of her systems. And his tone is a little too serious. "Do you know what an intervention is...?"

"Yes. And we absolutely need to have one. He needs a damn shave, seriously, that beard is ridiculous."

But that is _not_ what they're thinking about, clearly. The look they exchange at his words says as much.

"We know you were looking into locating Gamora," says Rocket, though not unkindly. "Do we need to have to another talk about the fact she's from another timeline and we're all complete strangers to her?"

"No," he says, all amusement fleeing from his expression. "I know that. I just..."

"Need time to get used to the fact she's dead," says Nebula. Surprising him by the lack of judgement in her voice. "We had five years. You had barely days. It's understandable for you to..."

"Be doing all kinds of unhealthy stuff while failing to cope," finished Rocket for her. "Trust me, we know the deal. We did out share of unhealthy coping. Took us forever to snap out of it."

"That is true," admits Nebula, nodding.

"You have a free pass to do whatever it is you feel you need to do. Whatever you think might help. _Except this_," adds Rocket emphatically. "Because looking for her would be _beyond_ unhealthy."

"I know," says Quill. Because he does. He knows exactly what a bad idea it is every time he does it.

"Is there something you can be doing instead...?" wonders Rocket. "What were the stages of grief again?"

"I think anger was in there somewhere," says Nebula with a shrug as she disconnects the cables from the back of her neck with a casual motion of someone who did so way too many times.

"I... might have the coordinates still on file somewhere," says Rocket, earning frowns for both his fellow Guardians. Nebula does get whatever it is he's talking about, though. Takes her a few seconds, but eventually she nods in what appears to be a wholehearted agreement.

"Coordinates for... what...?" wonders Quill.

What Nebula says next comes in a tone so soft it's almost a whisper.

"The garden."

...

"I thought we'll have to go back. That she'll need it," says Rocket, pointing to the third occupant of the pod, fast asleep in her seat. "That once she gets over the initial shock she'll want to burn the place to the ground. But she never did."

"I really don't think burning down a farm will do anything for me," says Quill, but it's a half-hearted protest at best.

"What's the harm in trying?" replies Rocket as they hit the jump point.

"It really is weird though. That she wasn't in the mood to torch the place herself," he says, nodding his head in Nebula's direction.

"It was a bad day. I don't think she knew what she wanted. The last thing he said to her didn't make it better either... For a moment there I thought she'll want to bury him," says Rocket, hollowly. Even though it's clear that if that was what she needed he'd dig the grave himself. Because that's the kind of friend he was.

Still Quill finds he can picture it a little too clearly. All he needs to do is remember the too real grief on Gamora's face when she believed she managed to kill the titan. Of all the cruel, unspeakable things he did to them that was the worst.

He made them think of him as their father. Despite everything he did to them it was the only way they knew how to think of him.

"You know what? Yeah. Let's burn his damn garden to the ground," he says, his voice suddenly full of resolve. Not exactly devoid of anger, either...

"That's the spirit," says Rocket, patting him on the shoulder before starting the descent to the planet's surface.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thor's not getting better," says Drax, apropos of nothing.

Nebula looks at him over her cards, takes a second to consider his expression, then puts them down. "Guess we're done playing then," says Rocket, following suit.

"What are you talking about...? He lost so much weight already..."

"Quill," says Nebula, clearly thinking better of what she was about to say and instead going with, "I don't think you noticed but you're the only person here judging him mainly on what shape he's in physically."

It still sounds like there's a comment about his attitude in there somewhere. One that's kind of spot on, even he has to admit. Now this would be the perfect opportunity to get all childish about this, but he decides that it's yet again time to be the captain. Which unfortunately means he's gonna have to act like an adult for the next few minutes or so. "He's not, is he?" he sighs as the others nod. "Yeah, I can hear him too."

No one quite knows what to say to that, because it is a small ship and they can _all_ hear him. They all know about the nightmares...

"Should I tell Mantis to...?" starts Quill after a few seconds go by in silence.

"No."

"But... It's what she does..." he frowns at Nebula.

"No," she repeats, just as decisively. "Mantis can only really cure the symptoms. She can make him feel untroubled enough to be able to fall asleep but the trauma is still there when he wakes up..."

"How do you know that?" frowns Drax.

Nebula looks to stare at him, openly surprised by the question. "I asked her. I need to understand how her powers work so I know what I can count on her to be able to do. It improves my chances of survival," she adds. In a tone of someone saying something really obvious – to a room of people she's suddenly very aware did need the explanation.

"Why aren't you asking us about...?" starts Quill on hearing that.

"You have skillets, not _powers_," she points out. "Besides, I know exactly what the rest of you can do."

"That's true," admits the terran. Then chuckles to himself seeing her expression. "You should be glad we're not that thorough about these things. If we knew half the stuff you're capable of we'd let you bail after Ego... There's a compliment in there somewhere," he adds.

She gives him a look. Not an unamused one, because she could tell there was a compliment in there somewhere. One she might be willing to take, even.

"So… not Mantis then."

"No," repeats Nebula, her tone making it clear she does have a solution. Which she immediately confirms by adding, "I'll take care of it."

"Ehm... _how_...?" he can't keep himself from saying.

"_Oh_," says Rocket, as usually being the only one to know what she's talking about. "And you think _that_ will help...?"

"Guys," says Quill, trying his best not to sound annoyed. "You're doing it again."

"Sorry," says Nebula. She seems to mean it too. "I used to have nightmares too," she explains.

Not one of the Guardians is surprised by that revelation. Drax even utters "Understandable," under his breath.

"_Oh_," says Quill, finding he dropped his cards as the understanding hit him. "_Used to_," he repeats, starring at her. "What helped?"

"This," she says only.

Nothing happens for a second. And then there's a hologram taking up the space in front of her face, seeming to project out of one of her eyes. "Maybe you should have given them a warning you were going to do that," comments Rocket, taking in the shocked expressions of the other two Guardians.

"How are you doing that?" says Drax, waving his hand in front of her face, distorting the image as his fingers pass through it. Nebula slaps it away and turns off the projection.

"For the record, yeah, a warning next time" says Quill, sounding distant. Clearly needing some time to get over what he just saw. "But... yeah. We should definitely try _that_ before putting Mantis on the case."

"Good," nods Drax, sounding satisfied. He picks up his cards again.

"_Well_," says Quill, stretching the syllables. "Since we're on the subject..."

"If this is another comment on his weight..." groans Rocket.

"We do need to do something about the beard..." continues Quill, ignoring him. "I suggest we slip him something and shave him while he's passed out."

"And then pray we survive what follows when he wakes up...?" guesses Nebula.

"See, that's why I was going to volunteer you for the job."

"Why?" she says, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"I just... don't seem him hurting you," he shrugs.

"Not without breaking his hand," says Rocket under his breath as he reshuffles the deck.

"Yeah," agrees Nebula. "I got a _lot_ of vibranium replacements."

"Not what I meant," comments Quill looking up from his cards briefly.

"I think he thinks Thor wouldn't harm you because you're _a lady_," says Rocket in a theatrical whisper. Putting way too much emphasis on the last word, making Quill roll his eyes. Drax and Nebula exchange a look and burst out laughing.

"Pretty sure he meant Thor wouldn't because he knows I wouldn't hesitate to put him through a wall..." says Nebula when she eventually regains her composure.

"Exactly," nods Quill, glad they're on the same page.

"I'm still not going to help you with this."

"Are you enjoying looking at that thing? It's ridiculous..."

"We're putting up with Drax not knowing shirts are a thing, we can absolutely put up with..."

"Thor having decided the homeless wizard look really works for him," finishes Rocket with a grin. Nebula just nods before going back to happily ignoring the way Drax narrowed his eyes at her after her comment.

"I am curious how much longer is he going to grow it," says Drax then, in his usual completely matter-of-fact tone.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" says Rocket, his expression turning mischievous immediately.

"We are _not_ making bets on that," says Quill. Trying to kick Rocket under the table to get his point across. Missing and… "You weren't kidding about the vibranium upgrades," he says weakly when he finds himself able to talk again. "I think all my toes are broken."

"And I think you have a terrible hand and this is you trying to get out of paying," says Rocket dismissively. "Suck it up captain. You can have painkillers after the game is finished."

...

He hides his face in his hands and stays that way until his breathing settles. It could be minutes. It feels like hours.

When he takes them away there's a figure in the door to the tiny excuse for a cabin.

Which is not that rare an occurrence, what with this being by no means a private space. Since this lumpy mattress is the closest thing to an actual bed aboard the ship and no one gets to really claim it – instead the ownership automatically changes depending on who is the most sleep-deprived person aboard in any given moment. So being woken from a nap by someone who decided he's been usurping it long enough is nothing new. Though Nebula does usually open up with kicking him in the ribs and telling him to get out. Her personality does _not_ get improved when she needs her sleep.

But as he studies her expression in the gloom he finds that is _not _why she's here. This is about something else. What, he can't begin to guess.

"You need to see this," says Nebula. Her expression remains utterly unreadable as she comes in and sits down at the end of the bed.

The holographic footage that starts playing a few seconds later doesn't come as a surprise. He'd seen her do that before. What it shows, however...

"I didn't," he says as the few seconds showing the moment Thanos died come to an abrupt end. "Need to see that. I remember it happened."

"Not when you're dreaming," she says and waits, giving him a moment to decide whether he wants to lie to her - or himself - about that being the case. He finds he does not. "I used to play it for hours," she says then, her voice so soft it's almost unrecognizable. "After so many years it took effort to actually make myself believe he was gone. That I was free of him. So after every nightmare I would play this. To remind myself."

He nods to let her know he hears her. That he _understands_.

"May I... see it again?" he finds himself saying after some hesitation. She says nothing, merely plays the scene again. And again. Giving all indication she's willing to stay for hours if that's what he needs. "Thank you," he says in a whisper.

"Anytime."

She pats him on the hand before getting up to leave.

"Look who turns out to be good at being the captain," greets her as soon as she steps into the corridor outside.

"What does that even mean?" she says, her tone making it clear she's rolling her eyes.

"Just take the compliment, angry," replies Rocket.

Thor chuckles to himself as the sound of their voices gets more faraway. Then simply closes his eyes and escapes into sleep. To wake up hours later, rested after the first night untroubled by nightmares he got in years.


	5. Chapter 5

"What is it this time?" says Nebula when Rocket, on checking his messages, tells her they need to wrap things up because the rest of the crew is flying over to pick them up a day too early. "Are we out of beer? Did Drax get a papercut...?"

"Quill locked himself in the pod, apparently."

"Did someone accidentally insult Footloose?" she says, lifting an eyebrow.

"He wanted have some peace and quiet while he deals with admin..." says Rocket scanning the text of the message.

"What?"

"And that was two days ago. He should be running out of food by now, according to this," he says, waving the portable screen around. "And he will _not_ come out. He just keeps mumbling about taxes."

Which is definitely too much for Nebula who now openly frowns. "Did no one tell him that most of the governments..."

"Were a mess if not collapsing outright and there's a blanket amnesty for these things?" grins Rocket. "No. No one told him. And he probably went offline so he doesn't have distractions. So it's gonna have to be us who will give him the good news. Which is only fair. It _was _our terrible record-keeping that broke him."

Nebula just rolls her eyes and settles to wait for the ship's arrival. Or would if Rocket didn't insist they come up with a gameplan while they're waiting.

"What? I'm not wasting any more time on this nonsense than we had already."

...

"Can't believe he tried to deal with five years of worth of paperwork in one sitting..." mutters Rocket while rewiring the door mechanism.

"I still can't believe you guys need to do your taxes," says Thor, shaking his head. "You're..."

"Galactic heroes...?" smirks Rocket. "Yes. Yes we _are_. And as such we have this unfortunate habit of being too altruistic for our own good and taking on things there is no chance in hell of making a profit on. So, you know, we're kinda dependent on all the good will we still have with Nova Corp."

"Xandar is basically a tax haven as far as we're concerned," translates Nebula for the still confused Asgardian.

"Among other things. Nova Corp also usually takes care of our medical expenses. _But_ they're still expecting us to fill in the right forms before they pay up," says Rocket, shaking his head. Not adding that Quill always took care of that and it rarely went any less dramatically than this. But hey – _he _wanted to be the captain. To prove he's not _that_ childish by doing all this grownup stuff for them. "We're gonna need something with a solid element of surprise once we're through the door," he continues. "Because he _will_ get violent. He hates being interrupted while he's trying to adult."

"I've got something," says Nebula immediately.

"You really need to elaborate on that, you know..." he frowns up at her, his work momentarily forgotten.

"I'll just call him a _nerfherder_," she says with just a suggestion of a smile on her face.

"I said surprise him not blow his goddamn mind, _Nebula_."

...

"_Nerfherder_," he repeats for about the fifth time.

It's the only thing he said since they got him out of the pod and took away the screen on which he's been scanning the chaos that have been their financial records for the last five years. The tangle of numbers have been so borderline incoherent it clearly sent him into a shutdown. And that was _before _they forcibly made him to stop occupying the pod.

"Told you that will be too much," says Rocket, glaring at the unapologetic Nebula. "We should have let Mantis put him out of commission."

"That would have meant fifteen minutes of explaining to her why she can't use a knife to do that," points out Thor. The brilliant smile that settles over Mantis's face as soon as he says it immediately proving his point.

"_Nerfherder..._"

"It's like he turned into Groot," says Mantis, clapping her hands happily.

They all take a moment to regard the mentally checked out terran because, well, she's spot on. "I have an idea how to make him snap out of it," says Nebula after a few seconds.

"As brilliant as the last one?" says Rocket, lifting an eyebrow. But in a tone that suggests that whatever it is probably can't make things that much worse.

"_Nerfherder..._" repeats Quill, his tone as amazed now as it was the first time he said it.

"Yes," sighs Nebula as she gets down on one knee to be on eyelevel with him. "And you're looking kinda scruffy too..." she adds. Making Rocket chuckle despite himself.

"What is she doing?" asks Drax suspiciously as soon as she starts playing a piece of holographic footage that seems slightly more distorted than the recordings of her own memories usually are.

"_Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope_," says the small figure in the footage.

"You wouldn't have the metal bikini Leia, would you...?" says Quill with a grin.

"And he's back," grins Rocket. "Hey, _nerfherder_, the Xandarians don't expect us to have our papers in order. Not for the last five years."

"But... How are we gonna get the Nova Corp reimburse our fuel and ammo and..."

"Trips to Contraxia you'll try to sell them as _mental health leave…_?" says Nebula, just about stopping short of smirking. "Did you ever consider we don't need them to do that anymore? We've been making ridiculous money on bounty hunting."

"Yes, but… that won't last, will it? We need some reserve against the next time we do something heroic to keep people from dying. Because when stuff like that happens there's no reward and all these medical expenses and the ship is usually a wreck and…"

"Oh, wow," says Nebula, slowly turning to Rocket. "Is _that_ why you couldn't wait to let him be the captain again?"

"It's a stressful job," says Rocket shrugging, coming over to pat Quill on the shoulder. "But someone has to do it."

"I can't believe you guys watched _Star Wars…_" says Quill weakly, shaking his head.

"Quill, _of course we did_. What else is there to do on Terra?" says Nebula with one of those expressions that make it impossible to tell just how amused she is underneath all that careful neutrality. "Alright, go have a shower, you smell like you've been locked in a pod for two days. And when you get out we're having a movie night."

"What she said," agrees Rocket. "All work and no play sends humans on killing sprees, apparently. Wouldn't want _that_."

"Yes," says Nebula, her face if anything turning even more serious. "If anyone is going on a killing spree around here…"

"It's going to be you…?" say the other Guardians in unison.

"_Exactly_."


	6. Chapter 6

"I never liked her."

Rocket looks up from the explosives he's been improvising for the last hour – because you can never have enough things that go boom. He is not surprised to find Drax looming over him, no doubt while working on perfecting his ability to stand incredibly still. He only sees what's wrong with this picture when he does a double take of the rest of the room. The place where Nebula is dozing off to be specific...

"Did you put a blanket over her?"

"I have," admits Drax. And Rocket finds he couldn't suppress his grin if he tried.

"But you never liked her," he says.

"I never have," nods Drax.

"Yeah, we may have picked up on that from all the times you said that. Out loud. After _no one_ asked you..." replies Rocket, putting the last of his detonators away. "You heard her talking to Morgan, didn't you?"

"Are you suggesting I was intentionally eavesdropping?" says Drax, taking his time to decide whether he should be taking offense.

"Not at all. It's a small ship. Everyone pretty much gave up on having any privacy," shrugs Rocket. Jumping down from his seat, walking over to Nebula and pulling the blanket more securely around her shoulders. "Stark did that, you know. Never stopped telling her that that tiny human would never exist if she didn't help him get off Titan. He meant it too," adds Rocket, smiling at the memory. "Which doesn't mean he wasn't using it every time he felt like emotionally blackmailing us into babysitting…"

Drax just nods his understanding. Then, very slowly, he adds, "This violent automaton is my friend."

"I am Groot," comes from beside the small pile of improvised explosives.

"Yeah, you said it, buddy," smirks Rocket before turning to Drax. "Come on. You can practice invisibility later. I need you to help me find a box for these before I get another speech about not leaving explosives just laying around…"

...

"So we have a Quill situation..."

"How drunk is he?" she says. Words followed almost without transition by, "You know you're supposed to call Rocket over this. He's a lot better at talking him down."

"I know," interrupts the Asgardian. "But you're closer and..."

"What?" says Nebula, catching the very real worry on his face.

"He's not drunk he just... He found a box of your sister's things and..."

"Shut down?" she guesses.

Thor nods, unhappily.

"Turning the ship around," she replies and disconnects so she can focus all her attention on flying. Well, almost all her attention. She does spare some for cursing at herself for not hiding it better. She just... she couldn't bring herself to get rid of it.

But she should have known better. Which makes this only fair. The job of dealing with what finding the box did to Quill falling to her...

"That was fast," comment Thor as she rejoins him on the ship in less than an hour. "He's over there. He hasn't said a word since..."

"I've got this," she says only, heading in the direction he indicated. Then, remembering a conversation she had with Rocket not that long ago, she adds, "But... maybe find me a bottle of something."

"Can your body even metabolize alcohol?" says the Asgardian with a frown.

She just gives him a look. Then, seeing she will actually have to spell it out, she adds, "It won't be for me."

"Oh. Right," says Thor and heads off to try to locate some. Not without one last worried look over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," says Quill when she reaches him and sits down on the ground beside him. "I don't mean to..."

"Have emotions?" she replies, stopping him right there. "No one minds, Quill."

He sighs, but doesn't argue the point. What he does do is finally make himself let go of the sword he's been holding so hard the patterns of metal have imprinted on his palm.

Nebula takes is, puts it in the box and after a moment of silence – while being very careful not to look at him – says, "Do you need a hug?"

"What did you do?" says Thor when he runs back into the room, worried by how abruptly Quill seemed to have gone from deeply depressed to laughing at full volume. Nebula only shrugs, her smile both amused and just a little surprised that it actually worked.

"Is that...?" says Quill hopefully, catching sight of the bottle in Thor's hand.

"All I could find was mead," he replies. Waiting for the other two Guardians to stop groaning to add, "I think it's all we have."

"I see," sighs Nebula, getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"To put _alcohol _on the list for the next supply run."

"Yeah, good call," admits Quill.

...

"I like this one."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks," says Kraglin with an uncertain smile.

"Just says it," grins Quill.

"I have _so many question_," admits the Ravager, regarding the crew surrounding him. "Is... is that a really small terran?" he says, pointing at one of the screens.

"Yes it is. That would be _my _really small terran," says Rocket, grinning when Nebula turns to stare at him. "What? I did call dibs if I remember correctly."

"That's Morgan," explains Nebula, her eyes straying to the picture of the little girl still showing on the screen after the latest call she made. "She's..."

"Really tiny. Good for thievin," winks Rocket.

Kraglin opens his mouth, then thinks better of it and just decides to abandon the subject in favor of asking another one of his way too many questions.

"Yes," replies Thor. "Technically the king of Asgard. But Asgard..."

"Technically no longer exists and being royalty isn't a real job," interjects Rocket helpfully. Thor frowns, but after thinking about it for a second just shrugs in a well-he's-not-wrong kind of way.

"You just can't have an ordinary crew, can you?" comments Kraglin, turning to his old friend.

"Not really, no..."

"Any other things you want to ask about?" wonders Rocket, clearly having a lot of fun with answering Kraglin's questions and not willing to give it up just yet.

"Yes, actually. Is it just me or is this place a lot cleaner than it used to be...?"

That leaves all the Guardians momentarily silent as the look around the space.

"It is, isn't it?" says Rocket eventually, sounding openly amazed.

"I was wondering why it feels different. Alright - who's been cleaning up while we weren't looking?" says Quill, his eyes stopping on Mantis, since she does feel like the obvious suspect.

"I don't think anyone has," comments Nebula. "I think we've just been too busy to make much of a mess."

"Huh," is all Quill says. Because thinking about it it does feel like she might just be right. They all fall into thoughtful silence for a moment. Broken by an _I am Groot_ that clearly seems to be aimed at the Ravager.

"Just one," says Kraglin, growing somewhat more serious as he turns to face Quill. "How are you coping?"

He seems to think about it for a moment, clearly wanting to give a real answer. "As best as I can," he says eventually.

"Which is a lot better than anyone expected," says Nebula, her tone light and matter-of-fact.

"Tell me about it," joins in Rocket with an eyeroll. "The bets I lost on this one already. And you're no better," he adds, turning to Thor on hearing his usual infectious laughter. "Can't believe you got rid of the beard..."

What follows that statement would seem like an argument to anyone who didn't know better. Anyone who didn't know that families are complicated. "Ordinary crews are overrated," says Quill, exchanging a look with Kraglin. "I'd rather have these a-holes."


End file.
